Remains of World War II soldier to be buried Oct. 1 in La Crosse

The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. Robert L. Skaar, a soldier killed during World War II, will be interred Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Woodland Cemetery, La Crosse. Dickinson Family Funeral Home will perform graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of La Crosse, Skaar was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action March 10, 1945, at age 18, while his unit was on patrol near Wildenguth, France.

Skaar

Skaar was accounted for June 7 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency after his remains were exhumed in August 2022 from Ardennes American Cemetery Neupré, Belgium, for laboratory analysis and identification.

The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating family members of missing soldiers from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

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The process begins by locating the most closely-related family member, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.

Once a soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces medical examiner, the team notifies the family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process, including a burial with full military honors.